Aquafeed and animal health provider Skretting has announced a partnership with Łódź, Poland-based Proteon Pharmaceuticals to develop bacteriophage technology for use animal health.
Phages are organisms existing in animal microbiomes that offer protection from harmful bacteria. The partnership will explore the controlled delivery of phages to combat threats to fish health. If successful, the project will have knock-on effects such as reducing antibiotic use in aquaculture, reducing the threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and improving human health.
“Products based on bacteriophages are an effective tool for fighting bacterial diseases in farmed fish and shrimp, as they can eliminate only the specific pathogenic bacteria while not damaging the animal’s microbiome,” Skretting Business Developer Truls Dahl said in a press release. “Having alternatives to antibiotics to support the health of fish and shrimp is a very exciting part of the development. Vaccines, antibiotics, and indeed phage technologies have been around for a long time, but the use of phages is still quite new for aquaculture.”
Proteon Pharmaceuticals has been developing phage-based products for more than a decade. Initially, the partnership will involve Skretting providing isolated samples of the most prevalent specific strains of harmful bacteria affecting global aquaculture operations, while Proteon will work to identify the most effective cocktail of bacteriophages for use in combatting them. The two companies will then conduct research trials at the Skretting Aquaculture Research Centre, examining the efficacy of the phages during challenge trials, exploring both feed and water applications.
The companies have decided to target the Vibrio bacteria first, due to its prevalence and the harm it causes the aquaculture industry worldwide. Skretting and Proteon Pharmaceuticals said they expect to have their Vibrio-related product available “in a couple of years.”
“The project timeline is a few years, but both Skretting and Proteon Pharmaceuticals are confident that the resultant health solutions are worth the wait,” the companies said. “With anti-microbial resistance (AMR) still looming as a serious threat facing the global population, natural health strategies are increasingly important for food producing industries.”
Proteon Pharmaceuticals Chief Commercial Officer Nipun Gupta said his company’s vision is to develop natural feed additives that help remove antibiotics from the food chain and improve animal and human health.
“We are very excited to partner with Skretting. This partnership is another great opportunity for us to grow our product portfolio and expand our presence worldwide with our products for aquatic health management,” Gupta said. “Together, we will bring an important innovation and new tools to increase sustainability and fight bacterial disease.”
Stavanger, Norway-based Skretting is the aquaculture division of Nutreco, a world leader in animal nutrition. The firm has a global reach into the aquaculture sector, producing more than two million metric tons of feed for more than 60 marine species. It operates production facilities in 19 countries on five continents, giving it the global reach necessary to make implementation of phage technology possible, according to the company.
“It’s not every day you introduce a new technology to improve animal health,” Skretting CEO Therese Log Bergjord said. “This is a milestone, and highlights our commitment to continue to invest in health research for the sustainability of the Aquaculture industry as a whole.”
Photo courtesy of Skretting
